Drop-down running boards for vehicles are generally known, and are most commonly used for sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks, which sit higher off of the ground compared to a car. Drop-down running boards move between a retracted position when the vehicle doors are closed and a deployed position when one or more of the vehicle doors is opened.
Typical drop-down running boards are activated by a signal received by the vehicle's computer indicating that one or more of the doors are open. The signal is typically the vehicle's “door ajar” signal. Each drop-down running board is activated separately from one another, based on which side of the vehicle has an open door.
One problem that exists with current drop-down running boards is that during installation, connecting the running board to be controlled by the door ajar signal in the vehicle computer is time consuming. Additionally, different vehicle assembly lines have different methodologies for identifying the vehicle's door ajar signal, which may change the way the drop-down running board is installed onto the vehicle.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a drop-down running board which operates based on a signal independent from the door ajar signal, and allows for installation without having to connect directly into the vehicle's existing wiring system.